Drops of Gold
by Lamia of the Dark
Summary: Companion to "Bad Magic". A collection of drabbles about Ren and Kyoko raising their daughter.
1. Name

**DISCLAIMER: Skip Beat! belongs to Yoshiki Nakamura.**

 **A/N:** This collection is part of my Psychometry universe and may not make a lot of sense to those who haven't read "Bad Magic".

~ Drops of Gold ~

"I still can't believe you two decided to name her _Setsuka_ ," Lory says as Kuon proudly shows off the newest addition to the Hizuri family.

"Actually, we planned on naming her 'Ren' at first but once she was born, Kyoko decided that 'Setsuka' fit her better."

"And you didn't dare argue with her?" Lory guessed.

Kuon laughed weakly in repsonse.

"You _did_ argue with her."

"I tried to... but Dad and Cain both said they liked 'Setsuka' better, and Maria told her that naming the baby 'Ren' would have been weird anyway, so I was very outnumbered."

~oOo~


	2. It's Normal, I Tell Ya

~ Drops of Gold ~

"She cries a lot," Kyoko says.

"Well, duh. She's _a baby_ ," Kanae replies, her tone clearly implying that this is something the other woman should have already realized. "You already have a kid! It hasn't been _that_ long since your son was this age. Surely you haven't already forgotten how much babies cry?"

"But Cain was a such a quiet baby... and Setsu cries _so much_..."

"Look," Kanae says, exasperated. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but _Cain is weird_. Your daughter cries a normal amount for a newborn. Trust me, I have enough younger siblings to be an expert on these things."

~oOo~


	3. Inheritance

~ Drops of Gold ~

"Why won't she stop crying?" Kuon groaned, just barely managing to resist the urge to cover his ears as his infant daughter continued to wail. "She doesn't need changed, she obviously doesn't want to go to sleep, and it's only been an hour since she was last fed..."

"Moko-san said it's normal for babies to cry this much," Kyoko answered. She nearly had to shout to be heard over Setsu. "And sometimes they cry for no reason."

Setsu had been crying for a solid half hour now. No amount of cuddles or being rocked could sooth the fussy infant.

"I don't think this is normal... maybe we should take her to the doctor," Kuon put forth.

"I don't know... do you really think something is wrong with her?"

* * *

They were so busy trying to deal with the baby that neither of them had bothered to keep track of what their son was doing. So they were a bit surprised when the seven-year-old came into the living room with a baby bottle in his hands.

Before either of his parents had a chance to react, Cain sat beside his mother on the couch and gave Setsuka the bottle.

The baby went quiet as soon as the bottle touched her lips, and happily began to suck down the formula.

Seeing the stunned expressions on his parents' faces, the boy explained, "I called Grandma Julie and she said maybe Setsu inherited Grandpa's stomach. It looks like she was right! She told me how to fix the bottle for her, too."

~oOo~


	4. Shouldn't Have Named Her That, After All

~ Drops of Gold ~

Kuon was in Lory's office when the call came.

"Sorry, do you mind if I answer this?" he asked apologetically. "It's Kyoko."

Lory considered telling him to let it go to voicemail, but their discussion of Kuon's new job offers was mostly finished anyway, and Kyoko had developed a habit of calling the president third if she couldn't reach her husband or Kanae when she was panicking about anything related to her children.

When Kuon answered the phone, he was met with the sound of his wife's hysterical sobs.

Once she calmed down enough to actually speak, Kyoko wailed, "YOU WERE RIGHT, WE SHOULDN'T HAVE NAMED HER SETSUKAAAAAAAA!"

"What...? What happened?" Kuon asked apprehensively.

What could their 8-month-old baby have possibly done that made Kyoko react this way?

He tried to ask her but she was already off in La-La Land, and he had to listen to the entire future life of their disobedient delinquent runaway child (as provided by Kyoko's overactive imagination) before she broke down sobbing again.

He thought he heard Cain's voice faintly in the background, and then the sound of Kyoko's sobs grew fainter as the phone was taken from her.

"Dad? Are you still listening?" Cain asked.

"Yes, I'm here," Kuon answered.

He was about to ask his son what had happened that had thrown Kyoko into a panic, but before he had a chance, he heard Cain say, "Here, talk to Daddy."

Then a little voice that was somewhat familiar and also somehow _not_ came over the phone, babbling, "Cain Cain Cain."

And suddenly everything about the situation made sense to him.

~oOo~


	5. BONUS CHAPTER: My Fluffy!

~ Drops of Gold ~

1-and-a-half-year-old Setsuka interrupted her father's nap by snatching his favorite sheep-shaped pillow right off his shoulder.

Kuon's eyes snapped open and he frowned down at the toddler.

"Give that back," he said.

His daughter replied with one of her favorite words: "No!"

"Yes," Kuon argued, pouting.

He tried to take the sheep from her, but the little girl clung to it with more strength than he would have thought possible.

"Setsuuuuu," he whined. "Give back Daddy's Fluffy."

"Mine!" Setsuka said, still hugging the sheep with all her might.

"Daddy needs his Fluffy." He made his best puppy-eyes at her, but his daughter only giggled and still refused to relinquish her hold on the animal pillow.

"Mine!" the child insisted.

"It's not yours. It's Daddy's Fluffy. Daddy's going to cry if you don't give it back."

"Daddy, no!"

"Wahhh..."

"Daddy?" Now the little thief was looking at her father in confusion.

"Wahhhhhh," Kuon wailed pitifully, using his acting skills to summon up a few real tears.

He had no idea the effect his fake-crying fit would have on his daughter, or he would have tried to find a different way to get his beloved pillow pet back.

As it were, Setsuka toddled to the open window nearby and tossed the sheep out, shouting "BYE BYE FWUFFEEEEE" before her father had a chance to react.

~oOo~

 **A/N: This chapter does not actually take place within the continuity of the "Psychometry" universe, since Kyoko would have no reason to think Ren would want a travel pillow, and therefore gave him something else for his birthday.**

 **BUT I wanted to write this anyway, so...**

 **heehee, Baby Setsu is so mean to her poor dad. XD**


	6. BONUS CHAPTER: Fluffy Dead :(

~ Drops of Gold ~

Kyoko stared at the text message she'd received from her husband, not sure how to react.

 _Kyoko, honey, I have some bad news... I'm sorry... Please don't be mad, but... Fluffy is dead. Setsu threw him out the window and he was run over by a bus_.

Wondering what was causing Kyoko to make such a strange expression, Kanae peeked over her shoulder to see what was displayed on the cell phone screen. Looking for herself was a lot easier than trying to get a straight answer out of her best friend when Kyoko was worked up over something.

"So... was Fluffy your cat?" Kanae asked.

"Huh?"

"Fluffy. Was it a cat?"

"Um... no," Kyoko answered slowly. "Fluffy was a pillow pet sheep. I'm sure Kuon is upset because it was the first present I ever gave him... He's just being dramatic."

Kanae snorted. "He turned into a such a big baby when he dropped the 'gentleman' persona."

"I'll just deal with him when I get home," Kyoko said. She started to put her phone away when it buzzed with an incoming text message.

 _Also, it seems that Setsu's new favorite game is 'Try To Make Daddy Cry'. Help! I've created a monster_.

Kyoko sighed and sent back: _Distract 'the jr bottomless pit' with food_.

~oOo~

 **A/N: Again, this is not an event that actually occurs within the "Psychometry" universe, since events are altered from canon so that Kyoko would never have given Ren the sheep pillow. Just some closure for the last chapter.**


	7. Little Demon

~ Drops of Gold ~

"She's a demon..."

"Mom, please quit freaking out."

"... a demon from Hell..."

"Mom, we're in public."

"...from the darkest depths of Hell..."

"You're giving off a scary aura, Mom. Maria-neechan already took Setsu out to the car. Please calm down."

* * *

Kuon sighed when he picked up his phone and saw ' **7 missed calls'** flashing on the screen. He was sure before he even checked that they would all be from Kyoko. And, sure enough, they all were.

Instead of checking his voicemail, he sent a text message to his wife that read _What did Setsuka do now?_

Nothing about raising their son had prepared them for raising their daughter, who was Cain's polar opposite in many ways. While Cain had always been a quiet and introverted child, Setsuka was very social and vocal... and, at three years old, had not quite grasped the concept of tact. So Kuon was not _entirely_ surprised to learn that his wife's current emotional breakdown was over their daughter yelling "You're fat!" at an overweight person in the supermarket.

~oOo~


	8. Baby Needs Daddy

~ Drops of Gold ~

Three-year-old Setsuka was being unusually quiet today, which worried her parents. Even more strange was that was the little girl had chosen to cling to her father. Normally she would run to her brother for comfort if she was upset emotionally, or to her mother if she was injured or felt sick. So the whole family had no idea what was wrong with her this time.

When the nanny showed up, Setsuka still refused to let go of Kuon.

"Setsu, please let me go. Daddy needs to leave for work."

" _No_ ," the child answered simply.

"Maybe she missed you because you've been away from home so much lately?" Kyoko put forth.

Kuon sighed. "I guess I'm staying home with her today, then. I'll call Yashiro and have him cancel or reschedule all my things..."

After sending the nanny home, Kyoko left to drop Cain off at school and go to work herself.

Kuon had just picked up his cell phone to call his manager, when he felt his daughter's little body tense up. Then the arm that was supporting the child was assaulted by a sudden blast of air, followed by an unpleasant damp trickle.

"Daddy, my stomach hurts," Setsuka whined.

"I wish you had told me that earlier, sweetie," Kuon replied, struggling to remain calm as hot diarrhea dripped down his arm.

~oOo~


	9. Sick Day

~ Drops of Gold ~

"Daddy, stay," Setsuka whined, clinging to Kuon when he tried to hand her over to the nanny.

This behavior reminded him of that day a few months ago when she had been sick.

"Setsuka, sweetheart," he said, doing his best not to sound accusatory, "do you maybe feel sick today? Is that why you want me to stay home?"

The little girl nodded.

"Why did you wait until now to tell me?" he asked.

"I had to wait until after Mommy left," his daughter answered.

"Why?" Kuon asked, nonplussed.

"I don't like it when Mommy stays home when I'm sick. She worries too much."

"Ah..."

Kuon didn't really have a response for that. It was true that Kyoko tended to panic and go overboard fussing when anyone in her family was even the slightest bit ill.

~oOo~


	10. Lotus

~ Drops of Gold ~

Four-year-old Setsuka squirmed, trying to escape from her mother's arms.

When Kyoko didn't let her down, she whined, "I want to see Moko Junior."

"You can bring her closer," Kanae said.

Kyoko cautiously followed this suggestion, slowly moving closer until Setsuka could get a good look at the baby, but was still out of touching range. Kyoko didn't quite trust her rambunctious daughter to not accidentally startle (or worse, _injure_ ) the infant.

"Cute!" Setsu squealed. "I want to hold her!"

"Ah, no!" Kyoko said quickly. "You can't hold the baby. She's too little."

Personally, Kanae thought that Kyoko was being weirdly overprotective over the newborn, but if Kyoko thought that Setsuka shouldn't be allowed to hold any babies, then Kanae wasn't going to try to argue with her. Arguing with Kyoko was usually more trouble than it was worth.

Setsu pouted at being told no.

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask," Kyoko said. "Did you and Hio decide on a name for her yet?"

Kanae smirked as she replied, "We named her Ren."

~oOo~


End file.
